Interview with Ana Sofía Narváez (English)

Hola, Ana! Can you introduce yourself for us?

I am Ana Sofía Narváez Salgado and I work as Relationship Builder for green coffee exporter and importer Caravela Coffee. I oversee three origins: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua. I am based out of Guatemala City, but I am currently working from my hometown in Nicaragua.

Describe your history in coffee. 

All my childhood memories have coffee involved as I come from a coffee-producing family. From a young age I learned the value of coffee, and how it works from an agricultural and logistical standpoint – a farmer’s view. I have also witnessed the good graces of coffee and the bad ones, especially when coffee is your family's main income source. My first job in coffee, I recall, was when I was 15 years old during school vacations around December. My dad hired me to keep track of all the coffee harvested at the farm. This was an important job because I had to interact with many pickers, and always be exact as any mistakes could lead to less payment to the pickers and create confusion or lack of trust. So, it was important to make sure that the data was reliable and accurate. 

As a coffee professional, I am only starting in this industry. I have supported my family's farms during harvests, but in 2018 I started working full-time with my father directly overseeing a dry mill in Nicaragua for over three months. Afterward, I went to study for a master's degree in Italy thanks to a scholarship I was awarded and the support of my family. While being in Italy I also had the opportunity to learn about quality assurance for Arabica and Robusta and trading at ARC Aziende Riunite Caffè SpA (ARC) in Milan - essentially how a coffee importing company works. This was an eye-opening experience, with so much learning and amazing coffee people and friends.  In terms of what I do currently, I believe I’ve acquired some skills to perform my job thanks to the education I have received, the experiences I have had, and the decisions I have made over the last couple of years. I hold a BA in Business Administration & Marketing from Keiser University Latin American Campus in Nicaragua and a master’s in Coffee Economics and Science from the Università degli Studi di Udine in association with the Illy Foundation in Italy.  Bonus: before deciding to work in coffee, I was working in the hotel and tourism industry in Rivas, Nicaragua.

What do you like the most about your job? About coffee? 

For me personally, coffee means happiness, because coffee has the power to transform lives and communities. The coffee sector is so dynamic, and you can know a lot about coffee, but the more you learn, the more you realize you know nothing, or at least that you still have a lot to learn. In this sense, we must be humble and recognize that.

I like my work because it is dynamic, it challenges me, and takes me out of my comfort zone. Through my work, I can interact and work with a diverse group of coffee growers and coffee professionals, diverse not only in languages, cultures but also in professional experiences. I like working for Caravela, firstly because it is a company that aligns with my principles and values, and secondly, because it is a company committed to excellence and quality, its producers and employees are its best asset. Caravela is a multicultural family with the same purpose and passion, offering roasters and consumers the best coffee in Latin America, and offering fair remuneration to coffee growers while promoting education and continuous improvement at all levels. 

About your country?

I like my country’s fighting spirit, cheerful vibes, and warm people. Nicaragua is my country and part of my identity. It is a country with a history marked by war, revolution, and poverty, but also a happy and lively country.  As a Nicaraguan, I am proud of my compatriots, since, despite all the setbacks as a country, we continue to fight. We are warriors, dressed in blue and white, the colors of our flag. #SomosAzulyBlanco

Describe your team in your job. Who do you work with? Who can you ask for help, support, or training? Are there female leaders in your company?

We are a team of three members. Salome Puentes (RB Coordinator) is from Colombia and Rory Gowan (RB Colombia) who is from the United Kingdom. We all have different backgrounds and nationalities, and as a team, we have managed to create good synergies to work remotely, either from our offices or in the mountains of any origin where Caravela is present. To be honest, I almost always forget that they are thousands of kilometers away, so technology and constant communication play a key role in this work dynamic. As a team, we work to create and maintain relationships between producers and roasters, especially with producers whom they buy coffee from. Also, we act as agents of innovation and change, we work with almost all company departments, especially with QC and PECA (Gower Education Program) team.  We work directly in the field and share the stories of so incredible producers and communities we work with.

And yes, there are many women within the company, almost 46% of all employees are women. Many of them hold positions such as Quality Coordinator, Sales Manager, Sustainability Director, Marketing Coordinator, Designer, Technology Director, and Director of Human Resources, among others. There is a woman in almost all areas of the company. In fact, last year in Guatemala there were more women than men, but now with the new hires, we are even.  I am proud to say within the company, there are many people I admire who have taught me so much. Personally, a coffee producer, who has so much experience and stories to tell, I always learn about coffee and life from them. Also, I see the country manager of Guatemala and El Salvador, Carlos Morales, as my mentor.  Since I joined the company, he has been someone who pushes me and the entire team to be our best ourselves, to be curious, and to seek knowledge and master it. In terms of seeking training or advice, it is very diverse. However, depending on the advice I need if it is about Quality, I can consult Marcela Espinoza (Nicaragua QC Coordinator) or Salome Puentes (Colombia RB Coordinator). I can also consult and contact the PECA team either from Central America or Peru or Colombia, for example, if I have questions about agronomic aspects. However, my life advisors and pillars are my mother Alma Iris, and my older sister María Cristina. 

Have there been important moments in your career that energize you to keep working in coffee? 

So, before I mentioned that I used to work in tourism and hospitality in Rivas, Nicaragua. There I used to work as Outdoor Activities Coordinator. It was a job I enjoyed because it was dynamic, demanding, and outdoors, so I had a lot of contact with nature and the beach. However, although it aligned with areas I wanted to pursue, I realized that it was a job I took because of fear of missing a great opportunity. During the time I was there, I always spoke to anyone I knew about coffee. As I became more involved in my work, I had this internal conversation with myself, wondering if this was the industry, I wanted to be a part of, grow and learn from. I tried to imagine myself in many roles within the industry and none seem to fit. It was at that moment that I realized that I had to completely change my career path. I realized that I wanted to work in the coffee industry, but I had to find out how.  This self-actualization has been a major turning point for me personally. In short, I resigned when it was low season and from the comfort of my hometown, I traced my new path. Many doubted my ability, and many questioned it because how can someone like me with a BA in Business Administration work in coffee if I am not even an agricultural engineer? Short answer, yes, surely you can. 

What do you think about women in the coffee industry? 

Many women are paving the way for many more coffee women to come. I personally have had the pleasure of meeting a few women who are green coffee buyers and roasters, where I see there is a great opportunity for women to increase their participation and contribution in consuming countries. I’ve seen women running important departments at origin and this needs to increase.  However, we must also understand that the coffee industry in each country, whether it produces or consume coffee, is at a different stage, it has its own identity, rhythm, and cultural challenges. I think we still have an imbalance of power in the coffee industry, but we are all connected because everyone who likes coffee sees coffee as a friend, a safe space when they drink it. However, it is not the same for many in the coffee lands. It has been researched and proven that when women participate, they drive economic growth for their families and communities. From an origin perspective, organizations private and public ones need to develop systems and training programs that allow women but above all youth to learn and acquire skills to become a QC analyst, a logistics assistant, an agronomist, manager, etc.  There are many women who are capable and just need an opportunity and guidance to show how capable they are. So, for me one of the biggest challenges at origin is an increase the participation of women in roles not common for women to hold. 

How has the outbreak of COVID-19 affected you professionally? 

In the workplace, it changed the plans we had on the agenda at the peak of the harvest in Central America. From January to April, many roasters and coffee buyers invest in visiting origin, meeting the producers who supply their coffee, visiting them annually to maintain relationships, finding new producers and or sourcing coffees to bring home. It is an excellent opportunity to share the work we do on the ground and the beauty of each country as well, however, with the arrival of the COVID-19 all plans changed. In other words, all the fieldwork we do has been stopped or postponed. I changed my routine and rhythm of life. However, not everything is bad, I personally and as a team has found new ways to carry out our work remotely and support operations and the department in the same way.  As a company, Caravela has a strong network of producers, committed employees, and the technology to run the operation and transition smoothly – this has been key to adapt and fulfill all commitments and a high-quality product. I have personally acquired many new skills in the last months. 

You're back in Nicaragua even though you normally work in Guatemala, is that correct? Can you describe what the outbreak looks like in Nicaragua right now? What did it look like in Guatemala when you left?

I left Guatemala in late February and when I came to Nicaragua all this about the coronavirus was like a distant subject. I remember during lunchtime with all my colleagues in Guatemala, we were talking about the news that was circulating and the possible ways in which it originated.  Already at that time, there was some uncertainty, but we really did not imagine that it would escalate so fast. The first week of March was normal to work until the moment when the coronavirus was declared a pandemic. At that time, Caravela quickly activated protocols and contingency plans, to protect the teams, clients, and especially producers. It was for me that moment that I realized that this was serious. Thanks to the company’s quick actions, especially in Nicaragua, we all adapted quickly to prevention measures and distancing recommendations. 

Fast forward, the environment in Nicaragua and the future of the country is somewhat uncertain. This is the 2nd crisis my country is facing in a lapse of two years. Nicaragua is the only Central American country that did not take the necessary measures to control the pandemic. Currently, there is a lot of misinformation and malicious actions that do not allow people to realize the magnitude of this pandemic. Many of the current efforts are from private companies or popular initiatives. Thus far, the government has not banned public events, public schools have not been closed, that is, everything continues as usual. The number of infected people grows every day but there are no official reports that support independent media data or reports from citizens. Many of the cases are being reported as atypical pneumonia and regardless of the cause of death, people are buried the same day, which is very painful for all affected families. Of course, we cannot ignore reality. Nicaragua is a country that does not have the health system or resources to treat sick people, with or without the pandemic, we have a precarious health system. Therefore, the best way to protect the population is to provide truthful and reliable information. The mere fact of having reliable information can save lives, unfortunately, is not the case.

I believe I've shared with you that my mom, grandma, and uncle left Nicaragua in the 80s during the Sandinista uprising. Do you feel comfortable sharing about your own family's experience of that time? 

In my family, this is a topic that is not talked about often. They all suffered a lot during the 80s. In the case of my parents, they suffered a lot when they were young due to food reasoning and because their families were numerous and of limited resources. My dad especially was called to do military service. He was two years away from his family, and interned in the mountains. My grandfather was a mechanic and my dad learned from him, this knowledge helped him, and so he was able to spend some time in the barracks repairing army trucks. My paternal grandfather also suffered retaliation for not being a supporter of the Sandinistas. My grandmother also lost part of her land since they were confiscated. After a lawsuit for years, she was compensated with other lands, but not the same amount. Instead, my mother also due to a lack of resources teenager had to work during the day and study at night to finish high school, so she could also study to be a primary school teacher.  She, her sisters, and my maternal grandmother also suffered, as two of my uncles were also forced to join the army. As a family we have never really spoken out politically, neither during the war nor in peacetime, we have been neutral in a way, exercising voting rights whenever possible. 

Fast-forward to recent times, Nicaragua is once again immersed in a sociopolitical and economic crisis that every day makes the country continue to plummet. As Nicaragua has an economy based on agriculture, we continue working and producing, we depend on what we produce but also because we lack more industry to transform and add value to our national products. The reality is that people do what they can with what they have. For years, we have been experiencing an economic crisis due to the lack of access to funds, financing to producers, and abrupt changes in laws and the constitution that do not benefit small and medium businesses or farmers. Likewise, in the last two years, we have experienced a massive migration of Nicaraguans to neighboring countries in Central America, the United States, and Europe. Personally, many acquaintances and friends have left the country because they fear for their lives and are now living as exiles just because they defended their rights and Nicaragua’s freedom. However, the worst consequence of all this, is that Nicaragua has lost its youth - qualified youth, people with the impetus and desire to grow and dream. It has marked again a generation that wanted to live in their country to make it prosperous. We are going to pay for this and suffer in the next 20 years maybe. But above all we have the breakdown of families, fragile families marked emotionally for all events in a country where according to statistics shared in Congress Central American and Caribbean Psychiatry in 2015, Nicaragua invests 15 NIO or 0.43  USD in mental health per citizen.  

During the period of the political crisis of 2018 in Nicaragua, the youth of the country played a major role. As a young person yourself, how were you being impacted by that?

I experienced this crisis as a spectator in a certain way because I was out of the country in 2018. However, I experienced the anguish that something could happen to my family, and the economic situation was also very difficult for us as a family. At first, I was very open about my position against the government and its actions, however, later we feared retaliation. e.g. a post on Facebook against the government could unfold personal attacks or even death. The truth is that I have always made my position clear, but I have never participated in marches as I was not in the country during that time. I think the youth of Nicaragua has played an important role in claiming our rights, and has paid a very high price - the lives of many bright young people who loved their country. As we say in Nicaragua, they represent me. All the Nicaraguans who love their country united under the same flag, blue and white, was a moment that marked our history. There is a sense of nationalism and pride that I have not seen before. Nicaragua's youth has made this possible.

What do you perceive is in the future for Nicaragua? What are your hopes?

I choose to be and want to be positive; I hope and trust all Nicaraguans who love their country. We are a fighting country, and we will continue fighting even if it takes many years to recover the economy and freedom. We have a generation that continues to innovate and create despite everything. My hope is that soon we can be a free country, without fear, without political prisoners, paying tribute to our heroes in April and that all political exiles have the option of returning to their homeland.

*Photos provided by Caravela Coffee.